Michael Brissenden presents AM Monday to Friday from 8:00am on ABC Local Radio and 7:10am on Radio National. Join Elizabeth Jackson for the Saturday edition at 8am on Local Radio and 7am on Radio National.

Govt to unveil multi-million dollar clean coal project

AM - Monday, 12 March , 2007 08:04:11

Reporter: Peta Donald

TONY EASTLEY: With an eye to the importance of the green vote in the next election, the Federal Government is putting money where its mouth is on clean coal technology.

Today its kicking in $100-million towards the development of a demonstration power plant in Victoria's Latrobe Valley.

The $750-million facility, to be built by a private company, is designed to pump 30 per cent less greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, compared with a conventional brown coal-generated power station.

The Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane is heading to Victoria to make the announcement. He spoke to Peta Donald in Canberra.

IAN MACFARLANE: It's highly efficient and it will lower emissions from producing electricity from brown coal by between 30 and 50 per cent.

If you look at the old brown coal-fired power stations in Victoria, this new technology will halve the emissions that are currently being produced from those power stations.

PETA DONALD: But when we have so much of Australia's energy produced by burning dirty coal, or brown coal, what sort of overall reduction is this going to make?

IAN MACFARLANE: Well, we're looking at making a significant reduction in greenhouse gases from our coal-fired power stations by proving up this technology.

If this technology is proven, then obviously as we move forward with new power stations employing this technology, or the black coal low-emission technology, we're using in power stations in Queensland and northern Queensland and New South Wales, we will see a very significant reduction in greenhouse gas.

PETA DONALD: Minister, would you be prepared to set a target for how much clean coal-generated power should be going into the electricity grid? Because Labor is planning to do that today.

IAN MACFARLANE: Well, Labor is making all sorts of claims and those claims need to backed up by the technology and the dollars to produce the projects.

We're already, as a government, investing in those projects and those projects are already deploying low-emission technology.

PETA DONALD: But isn't a target important because, after all, it's about the outcomes, isn't it?

IAN MACFARLANE: What's important is to develop the technology that proves that you can do this on a large scale.

And even the most optimistic are saying that commercial scale, low-emission technology is probably 10 to 15 years away. That is why we need to invest in it, that is why we need to collaborate internationally such as this project is doing with the Chinese.

So, while Labor can have targets, chances are those targets are simply going to cost jobs as they put in place the sorts of measures that really see the coal industry in Australia shrink before the technology that can lower the emissions from coal are fully developed.

PETA DONALD: On another issue, the ACNielsen poll out today shows that support for Labor continues to rise. It now has 61 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote. Does this mean that the Government's attacks on Kevin Rudd have backfired?

IAN MACFARLANE: Well, polls come and go, and as far as the Government is concerned, we're about putting in place policies that will secure Australia's long-term economic future.

Mr Rudd can say and do whatever he likes. The real test will be when we do go to the election and Australians have to think about who will secure Australia's future.

And those considerations are going to be the ones based on who has done the best job with the economy, who keeps Australia safe, and who ensures that Australia has jobs for our children and for our grandchildren.